Adding a touch of crystal glassware to your dining table works wonders when you want to make a lasting impression on your guests. But before you starting searching for “crystal glassware for sale”, you’ll want to take into consideration some basic factors in an effort to gain the most quality for your financial outlay.
Basically, there are two questions you’ll need to ask yourself to ensure you’re getting the best value:
- How often will I use the crystal ware?
- How can I make sure that my crystal glassware is worth what I’m paying?
How often will your crystal glassware be used?
This is really more important than you’d think once you give this question some thought. For example, if you entertain often with a large number of guests, you’ll probably want glasses that are a little more practical than crystal so as to go into the dishwasher. On the other hand, you can still make a big splash at that dinner party time and time again with larger crystal items which require less use, such as this Mikasa Hampshire Gold Footed Cake plate…, or a Heavy Crystal Serving platter… .
For the host who entertains small groups or people or less often, you’ll want to use handmade crystal. For only a few times a year, it’s well worth hand-washing your glasses for the satisfaction you’ll get from serving real crystal glassware.
For stemmed glassware, it’s interesting to note that the suggested shape of the glass changes with the type of wine; a thinner glass for white wines, vs. a large “full bodied” glass for the full-bodied red wines. It actually does make difference on how the wine tastes!
How to Judge Crystal
There are four different criteria you’ll want to note when detecting whether or not the crystal glassware for sale is priced at the right value:
- Clarity – To judge clarity, simply hold the glassware against a white background. If you detect cloudiness or a tint of gray, blue or green, the crystal has a low lead content and is not as valuable as crystal that appears clear against a white background. Crystal with a high lead content is more valuable; more lead yields higher quality: usually 10-24% lead; however, crystal containing 24-30% is clearer, although you would not want to go over 33% as it would be too soft.
- Sparkle – It’s the crystal with a high lead content that appears virtually clear that also seems to sparkle. Quality crystal possesses that permanent sparkle.
- Weight – Since crystal with a high lead content is more valuable, you can guess which would weigh more. Lead is heavy, of course, so heavier crystal is more valuable.
- Ring – True crystal has a ringing sound when struck lightly on the rim, although this really only pertains to delicate, thin crystal such as crystal glassware. You would not want to expect a heavy crystal bowl to make that delicate ringing sound.
To make the best impression on your guests with your crystal decorated table, check out the unique items on beckalar.com. This beautiful twin-swan serving tray is only one example, priced as low as $12.99!
But you’d better hurry; there’s only one left in stock. Don’t worry if you didn’t happen to get in on that sale in time… just keep checking the new arrivals on Beckalar.com for all your crystal glassware and tableware.
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